Complementarity

The jurisidiction of the International Criminal Court (ICC) is rooted in the principle of complementarity. This means that it complements, not replaces, national criminal jurisdictions. In general terms, it only prosecutes cases when State Parties to its founding Rome Statute are considered to be unwilling or unable to try individuals for core international crimes: war crimes, crimes against humanity, genocide or the crime of agression.

The main reasons why State Parties to the Rome Statute have opted for this principle, rather than primary jurisdiction:

• State sovereignty
• Efficiency: direct access to victims, perpetrators, crime scenes and the appropriate languages is more practical and less expensive
• Domestic court restore public trust and confidence in the justice, reconciliation and recovery efforts